Stargate: The Tollan
by Shadowburst Enigma
Summary: What has happened to the Tollan over the last few years? if they weren't really destroyed, what will they do now? will they become a major presence in the Galaxy? I really hope so. I also hope that there'll be some Sam/Narim. I love the Tollan. They deserve to live on.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: HI! This is my first real fan fiction. I love stargate PASSIONATELY, and I really love the Tollan. I want to write a story focusing on them. It'll take place after ****"****Unending****" ****and it will be as AU as it has to be. I really need suggestions on what to do with the story. i want to make it big and exciting and i can use any help i can get. PLEASE read, review, and give me input and suggestions.**

**Your faithful servant eternally,**

**Shadowburst Enigma**

**Disclaimer-I do not own stargate, the franchise belongs to MGM. Living for something does not necessarily mean that it belongs to you****…****unfortunately****…**

**The Chambers of the Curia, Tollana (The Tollan Homeworld**

Fifteen calm men and women sat around the glowing white circular table. Their roughly egg shaped metal chairs were perched on the large platform that stood within a pool of blue water, with walkways leading to the doors of the chambers. The Curia was in session and a rather meek looking man sat in a chair that was considerably taller than the others and pointed at the top. High Chancellor Narim was attempting to maintain a sense of leadership.

A woman with long brown hair was finishing her adress, "And so with the completion of the third building in this series, we will not only have finished rebuilding Capitol City, but we will have increased the area of the city by 29%."

Narim nodded, "Thank you Councilor Llerea. Before we conclude this session, Councilor Cellus, if you would."

Cellus corrected his posture in his seat as the attention was shifted to him. He was a relatively short man with light brown hair and a straight grey jacket that went down past his knees. "Yes...uh.. of course High Chancellor. As you all know, since our people's near destruction at the hands of the Goa'uld, our priorities have been to both rebuild our society and to ensure that such a thing never occurs again. With the reconstruction of our city we have accomplished the first of these. Now for the second." With that, he touched the table in front of him and entered a few commands on the interface that appeared. A beam of blue light shot up for the center of the table and instantly exploded outwards into a holographic display of the Tollana system.

Cellus continued, "I have led the committee dedicated to the fortification of Tollana, and the defense of our people. Towards this end, we have implemented the four-stage defense system. Since the attack, we have had a rebirth in the fields of technology and science. These advancements have made this project possible. If you would permit me to review the system... Stage one is a series of eight long range sensor installations around the perimeter of the Tollana system. These will allow us to monitor the status of space surrounding our system and detect any possible threats before they can become... well threatening. Any ship entering the system without transmitting validation codes, will be warned to turn back. If they do not do so, the sensors will relay their location to the 150 automated defense drones positioned around the 4th and 5th planets of the system."

Cellus waved his hand and the hologram transformed into a schematic of an oblong object with what was obviously an engine module on the rear and a multilayered apparatus on the front. He continued, "each drone is equipped with a particle beam projector which emits a continuous high energy plasma ray at the target. These are not as powerful as an ion cannon on their own, but used in large numbers and coupled with their continuous fire properties, they can be very effective. The next stage is the defense satellite network above Tollana itself. These are lightly shielded satellites that are also fitted with two particle beam projectors each. The third stage is the series of Mark III Ion Cannons on the ground. These are the most powerful weapons we have ever created, and they operate on the same basic principle as the original." Cellus changed the projection to show one of the cannons. "They use a greater energy compression matrix, which triples their power. There is also the powerful city shield that can encompass the entirety of the Capitol."

Cellus sighed, "and then, of course there is the fourth stage." He sighed, "This one was the most difficult to get validated, and it has proven to be most controversial. It is the creation of a fleet of starships. To clear up one of the most common misunderstandings, this does not create a military. The most important part of our society, I believe, is our homogeneous nature. To distinguish between military and civilian would separate and weaken us. No, rather this would provide us with a civilian based defense fleet which would be by far the most versatile of defenses. In fact, the vessels were designed to be highly automated, requiring a minimum of one Tollan occupant in order to input commands and regulate the optional artificial intelligence."

Narim, who had been listening attentively spoke up at this point, "Councilor could you please relay the progress of the project?"

Cellus bowed his head. "Of course High Chancellor. I am proud to say that after only 5 years, we are 50% complete. We have established the sensor perimeter and the defense drone system, we have 100 of the total 200 defense satellites constructed and being placed, we have 12 of the necessary 32 Mark III Ion cannons built, and we have 2 starships completed with a third underway at the shipyard."

This time it was Councilor Llerea who made an inquiry, "Cellus, do you have a estimate as to the completion date of the entire project?" Her voice was soft. She had been one of Cellus's major supporters along with Narim, when Cellus first proposed the plan after the attack by the Goa'uld. She had watched as it evolved, and as he evolved. He was after all… very young.

Her question however seemed to make him nervous. He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um that's the important part of the briefing. We appear to have exhausted our main supplies of trinium. The remaining trinium available on Tollana must be reserved for the production of personal items such as phase-shift bracelets and holo-computers. So... as of now... we have no way of finishing the project." Cellus looked down.

There were whispers and mutters around the table, as the Curia received this news.

High Chancellor Narim looked shocked as he analyzed this. "How could we have not anticipated this? Surely we would have calculated.."

Cellus cut him off, "We drastically over estimated the drain that the reconstruction of the city would put on our reserves."

Councilor Tolac who was a strong opponent of Cellus, looked smug at these developments. "And so, Councilor Cellus, what have you to remedy this _unfortunate _turn of events?"

Now Cellus looked like his skin was crawling. He knew that his next suggestion would be polarizing. "I would say that we need to look to other planetary sources of Trinium. We would have to... relax our isolationism somewhat…"

He was right about it being polarized…

Instantly, there were fifteen different voices speaking at once. Of course, there was no shouting as the Tollan were a mild mannered and quiet people. Still, there was no mistaking the tension caused by this suggestion.

"Becoming an obvious presence would surely attract enemies…"

"…enemies will eventually come, but we must be ready. We need the trinium…"

"…We have no way of knowing the status of the galaxy, we have had no outside contact for 5 years…"

"…exactly. I am not comfortable with such unknown variables…"

"…But truly it must be better to know?"

High Chancellor Narim raised his voice only enough that it be heard by everyone,"Let us please return to order." Everyone was immediately silent as he continued. "I believe that we must take this issue seriously. I propose that we attempt to reestablish contact with our allies. In that way we might be able to gain knowledge of the happenings of the last 5 years, and also locate a sufficient amount of Trinium."

Several of the Curia members nodded in approval. Others looked as if they were going to object, but Narim had proven his wisdom and they believed he knew how to handle this correctly. They too nodded, even if it was reluctantly.

Seeing this, Narim went on. "Very well, we will contact the Tok'ra, the Asgard, our friends the Nox, and…" Memories, sad memories of Samantha Carter came back to him and he stopped himself from adding the Tau'ri.

Cellus was seated at a computer console in his office at the Curia building. As he proposed searching off world, it was his responsibility to contact the allies of the Tollan. He began with the Tok'ra.

He spoke to the computer. "Computer access the Tollana interstellar communications array."

The computer answered back. "Access Granted. Citizen Cellus vocal validation confirmed.'

"Open a secure subspace link to Sector 12-561-43"

"Confirmed, Subspace channel open. No response."

Cellus spoke into the communication link. "This is Tollana, attempting to communicate with the Tok'ra base. Please respond." Cellus wasn't really expecting them to respond. The tok'ra usually contacted the Tollan, and they changed the locations of their bases fairly regularly. Anyway, Cellus knew that they were the only ones that would respond via subspace channel. The Asgard were a bit too far away for that, and the Nox did not approve of the indiscretion of that means of communication. Contacting either of them would require usage of a transpatial data beam. Each Tollan had a portable version of this device.

Cellus activated his phase-shift device and walked through the wall of his office. He appeared on the outside of the Curia building. He deactivated the the phase-shift bracelet and put his small transpatial communicator on the ground. He input the coordinates for Gaia, the Nox home-world and watched as the beam of white light carried his message across the stars. He then did the same for the Asgard.

_Now, _He thought, _Now, I wait__…__._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the delay (if anyone cared). After posting the last chapter, I began doubting my ability to write. I know that I don't have the creativity to do this piece justice on my own, so if you have any cool creative ideas please let me know. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy.**

**Your faithful servant eternally.**

**Shadowburst Enigma**

Tollana

Nothing! It had been two Tollana weeks, and the Curia had not received even the slightest communication from their allies. This made Cellus very uneasy. He had expected changes during the period of isolation. The galaxy didn't stop rotating simply because the Tollan separated themselves from it. But he was now very worried, and so was the Curia. For this very reason, they were once again in session. Cellus was addressing the other Councilors.

"We can understand the silence from the Tok'ra given the covert nature of their existence, but what about the Asgard and Nox? Why would they refuse to respond? We know they have the technology to communicate with us." His face darkened. "I fear that our situation may be more dire than we anticipated. If there are forces present in the galaxy that are capable of subduing the Asgard or Nox, then we have a serious reason for concern. We must know for sure."

The Curia had been watching him carefully. They could see that his concern was genuine, and they could understand why. The Asgard and the Nox were far more advanced than the Tollan. Any threat to either of them would pose a major threat to the Tollan's very existence. Cellus continued. "What I propose, is that we dispatch a ship to make contact with the Nox on Gaia. They can also scan for planets with large amounts of naquadah and trinium that we might be able to take advantage of."

Councilor Tolac stood up, he had heard enough of this, "Now you expect us to completely reveal ourselves to the universe, out of fear of your imaginary cataclysms? I urge the Curia to think about this seriously. Are we willing to risk ourselves by leaving the safety of Tollana?"

Cellus countered. "Yes, are we willing to risk our security? Are we willing to risk ourselves by remaining ignorant to the universe outside of our system? Not to mention that we need resources. This is not debatable. I will conduct this endeavor on my own if I must, but I stand by its necessity…"

Councilor Llerea rose her voice with a tone of command. "I call Councilor Cellus's proposal to a vote." She tapped on the interface on her part of he conference table. Soon all of the members were entering their votes.

When they had all finished, the holographic projector at the center of the room emitted a projection of the words "motion approved" in green letters. Of course, the detailed report would reveal that it passed only by one vote. Tolac leaned back in his chair and said nothing.

Cellus breathed a sigh of relief, "I will set out immediately."

Llerea added, "And I will join Cellus."

Narim sat up after having been silent for almost the entire session. "I would also suggest that you bring several security personal and standard defense technologies, just to be cautious."

Cellus and Llerea bowed their heads to the Chancellor.

The Tollan Starship _**Equatis **_in orbit of Tollana.

Cellus was sitting in the command chair at the center of the bridge. Unlike the bridges of most other ships, which were crowded with consoles and screens, the bridge of this Travell-class starship contained only three chairs situated in a large open space in front of the 180 degree view window. Cellus sat in one situated in the center as Llerea sat in the chair to his right and Nolis sat in the chair to his left. Nolis was Cellus's most trusted colleague and part of the defense committee headed by Cellus.

Cellus waived his hand and a shining holographic interface shimmered into existence before him. He leaned back. "Computer, plot a direct course to Gaia"

"Confirmed."

"What is the expected travel length?"

"8 hours and 12 minutes Tollan Standard Time"

Cellus sighed. "Good. Computer, activate the hyperdrive and run continuous active scans for significant trinium." The view of Tollana and the stars outside the bridged shifted before giving way to the pulsating blue of hyperspace.

Cellus stood up and glanced at Nolis and Llerea saying, "I'm going to sleep. I suggest that you both do the same. The ship can handle itself." With that, he left the bridge.

Cellus regained consciousness abruptly. All at once, his sleeping alcove was no longer a cushion of warm semi-liquid material. It had reverted back to its solid inactive state, meaning either the technology was malfunctioning, or the ship computer had detected that his presence was required. Surely enough, the metallic voice of the computer spoke over the internal communications system, "Approaching the Gaia System. Reversion to normal space in ten minutes."

Cellus dragged himself off of the rigid slab of metal which had previously been a pool of comfort. He walked into the cleansing chamber across the room and closed his eyes as sheets of blue lasers pulsed across every inches of his body, penetrating the clothing he still wore. Cellus then walked out, and put on his ankle length grey coat.

'Grey!', he thought, 'What a wonderful color.'And with that he walked over to the safe on the wall. He entered his voice code and the small force field dropped to reveal the four silver devices that all Tollan keep on their person. He strapped them onto their corresponding latches on his coat sleeves. First, his phase shift device, then his personal shield (as if he would need to for a visit to the Nox), then his portable computer, and finally his transpatial beam communicator. Generally, Cellus's people do not carry weapons of any sort. And anyway, they wouldn't work here. The Nox had actually implemented the Tollan's weapon nullification technology on a global scale, and they removed the exception for Tollan stunners.

The councilor then made the small return trip to the bridge where Llerea and Nolis were waiting for him along with three security force members. They didn't tend to talk much. It tended to make people… uncomfortable.

Llerea broke the silence. She smiled at Cellus. "How was your rest?"

He smiled back, "It was… restful. And how was yours?"

Nolis added readily. "We didn't sleep"

Cellus smiled again and gave a curt."Ah" Those two were … involved… and everyone knew it. Thankfully, the computer saved them from the awkward moment that Cellus was undoubtedly going to create with a provocative comment. Humor does not come naturally to his people.

"Destination arrival: reverting to normal space." The blue of hyperspace disappeared with a flash to reveal the lush free world of Gaia.

A wide smile spread over Llerea's face. "Just as beautiful as ever."

Nolis spread his hands apart to conjure up a computer interface. He opened a channel towards the planet. "We are representatives of Tollana attempting to contact our friends the Nox. Please respond." There was no response.

Cellus sighed. 'It can never be a simple task, can it?' Nolis re-sent the transmission on every frequency. There was still no response.

Nolis raised his eyebrows, "I am beginning to sense a pattern." Just then a little green dot appeared on the holographic display of the sensor reading of Gaia. Nolis squinted, "What is that?"

Llerea stood up, "It appears to be a compatible transport system. But what I cannot understand is why we are only seeing it now." Tollan transporters were essentially ring transports that were redesigned to look more simplistic and aesthetically pleasing, and this was to make them compatible with most transport systems in the galaxy.

Cellus rose triumphantly. 'The Nox. For some reason they don't want to respond, so they want us to meet them directly. I don't understand why though…" Secretly, Cellus enjoyed those last two uses of contractions just a little bit. It was customary in Tollan culture to refrain from using contractions during formal events, such as a meeting with an advanced ally culture.

The three of them exchanged affirmative glances. They then moved to the back of the bridge with the security forces and stood in a close cluster. Llerea removed her computing device from her arm strap and input several commands with the touch of her finger. Immediately, a circle of white light appeared from nowhere on the shiny grey floor. It surrounded the cluster, indicating that they were in the appropriate place. Then, without the typical rise of rings, the six were simply gone in a flash of blinding light. Through the view window, a beam of blue light could be seen for an instant as the matter stream transported the Tollan envoy to Gaia.

Surface of Gaia, Milky Way Galaxy.

The six Tollan with Cellus at their lead stood on the platform for several minutes. They had expected to be greeted by the warm smiles and soft melodic tones of their friends the Nox, but rather they were alone, entirely alone in the middle of endless forest.

Cellus was perplexed by this. After receiving what was all but an invitation to meet, he was expected something. They didn't necessarily have to make a spectacle of fanfare, but Cellus couldn't believe there was _nothing_. It made him immediately uncomfortable. He could tell this was also true for the others, as the security officers no longer had their stunners holstered.

Llerea stepped forward, "Lya? Hello, we are visitors from Tollana…"

There was no reply. Cellus was irritated by this alone. 'I'm becoming tired of being ignored,' he thought to himself.

Nolis chimed in while staring at the holoscreen of his computer. "We should be right at the location of their central city. I know its not at all unusual for the Nox to hide themselves, but why from us?"

Cellus replied deep in thought. "I have no… idea…" He walked as if transfixed away from the platform. One of the security agents was sure to follow him, a young woman with long black hair. He could swear he had seen a ripple just a few yards away. It was as if the air itself had warped for just barely a moment in that area. Cellus was just about to inspect the site of the anomaly, when his investigative trance was broken by Nolis.

"Cellus, localized sensors are picking up a strange energy field."

With that, Cellus's attention shifted. "Confirm with the _Equatis_ is orbit."

Nolis glanced down at his computer again. "Ship's sensors confirm. It looks as if the field covers the entirety of the planet with fluctuating areas of intensity. It's just constant enough to trick ship sensors into considering it a natural phenomena and not flagging an anomaly, but it is almost certainly artificial based on these readings."

Cellus nodded. "Can we counter it? Perhaps a targeted inverse field bounced off the shield arrays?"

"I'll try it. Give me a moment to configure this…" He prodded furiously at the small holographic interface of the personal computing device for a few minutes. Cellus and Llerea watched him intensely. "Ok, now. Field is functional… it seems to be working. It looks like this anomaly was some kind of cloaking field, it was layered over the general landscape and only hid specific things…"

Cellus and the others had pretty much figured this out, for the great floating City of the Nox had just appeared.

"_This is wrong__… __I know this is wrong__…" _Cellus thought this as he unwillingly contemplated the dark meaning of what he was seeing. The floating City of the Nox, was not floating. Rather it was on the ground, its towers no longer glowing a hopeful hue of light and its structure sagging in slightly overgrown ruins. There was a gentle seeping of smoke from the main tower. There were no signs of attack, but certainly of disaster.

Llerea let out a gasp, "No! No, it is not possible…"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello again. I'm honestly surprised that I'm updating so soon. Anyway, I shall be working on expanding the stage of action within this story. I hope to be able to weave the strands elegantly. As always, if there are any suggestions; I would love to hear them. I hope that you enjoy.

Your humble servant eternally,

Shadowburst Enigma

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or any of the ideas or things from that franchise. This story is not for my profit. The fact that I don't own Stargate causes me everlasting pain, and I cry myself to sleep every night because of this.

Llerea began running at full speed toward the Nox city. Cellus was not far behind, his coat fanning out behind him as he ran. He was trailed by Nolis and three very flustered, yet ever silent Tollan security agents. They all came to a stop behind Llerea in the middle of a cracked street of the city.

Llerea was part of the original Tollan contingent to be rescued from the Tau'ri by the Nox. She had become close with them, and some of the others said it was very difficult for her to leave them for Tollana. She was almost always placid. Her cool facade was impenetrable and could usually mask her deepest emotions. But at this moment, in the deserted ruins of the once spectacular city, tears were obvious upon her skin. Her voice shook as she murmured, "It cant be, it doesn't make sense…"

Cellus picked up thinking aloud. "No, no it doesn't. If the Knox were not here, why was the transport revealed? Better yet, why only hide such things half way? If they wanted too, the Nox could have made the cloak infallible. No, this was by design somehow. They didn't want to hide this-"

"Perhaps we only wanted to hide it from some?" A silky voice sounded from the side of the group, a voice very familiar to Llerea. The Tollans' heads whipped to the direction of the comment to look upon a young Nox woman with gentle features and a slight figure.

"Lya?" Llerea breathed, "Oh Lya, I knew you could not have-"

"Wait," Nolis interjected. "Cellus is right, this doesn't make sense." He addressed Lya, "How are you here? Is this real?"

Lya smiled and shook her head as she replied. "The Tollan, always so skeptical. In this situation, it serves you well." She motioned her head to indicate a sconce on the wall of the building opposite her. The crystal was glowing blue. It flashed a bit brighter, and Lya's outlines were highlighted in a noticeable blue radiance for just a moment.

Cellus nodded. "You're a hologram."

"Not in the technical sense, but in essence yes. This conversation is a result of a programmed recorded responses. This was set in motion as soon as you identified yourselves as Tollan."

Cellus questioned the projection further, "You wanted us to find you?"

"We had hoped that you would eventually return. Uncovering the city was a test, as well as a necessary demonstration of the situation."

"What might that situation be?"

"The Nox are no more."

Llerea could barely collect herself enough to ask, "Are you all… dead?"

Lya's gaze was soft. "Death is never the only option. One day you will understand that."

Cellus continued. "What happened? What could possibly have done this?"

Lya's face darkened slightly, "There was great fear in all of the Galaxy. A dark force called the Ori was ravaging across worlds. Many sought refuge, and many came here. We offered them protection in exchange for their dedication to peaceful lives. This continued for a time, until Nox started dying suddenly. The ritual of life could only bring back so many so quickly, and somehow a disease of great strength had descended upon us. We could not escape this plague. Many of us were forced to seek ultimate enlightenment to survive. We left this program to greet you, should you come to Gaia."

Cellus was only more confused by this response. "What is ultimate enlightenment?"

Lya's expression remained unchanged. "I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that question. My responses are limited."

"I still fail to see the point of all of this planning. Why are we here interacting with you? What is the purpose of this?"

"To know, is only a matter of asking the right questions. Remember that, you will need it. You will also need this." The projection stretched out her arm, and water began to gently rise up from cracks in the stone ground. Defying gravity, it collected together into a shimmering sphere. The space around the sphere of water shimmered for a moment, and it instantly became a clouded perfect crystal of ice. It floated over to rest in Llerea's outstretched hands. It wasn't cold, and it didn't begin to melt from her warm touch. Lya continued, "The transport will be available only until you leave. Then the cloak will be made perfect, to forever protect those still seeking refuge here. Find your path well my friends."

With that, Lya smiled one last time before fading into nonexistence.

Outer Gaia System, Tollan Starship _Equatis_

Nolis sat in his chair on the bridge staring out into space. He was letting his mind carelessly wander over how the window he was looking through wasn't actually glass, but rather an advanced one-way transparent metallic alloy. Such absent-mindedness came from his extreme exhaustion. He hadn't slept in a long time, and it didn't seem as if he was going to get a chance anytime soon.

After all, there had to be some sort of pillar of sanity onboard the ship. Llerea was locked away in her room. Having the Nox turn out to be dead, then alive, then dead again, then finally "ultimately enlightened" was too much for her to handle. Cellus, for his part, was locked in a laboratory trying tirelessly to make sense of the gift of the Nox. He had subjected the sphere of ice to every test and scan on the ship, and it had turned out to be… ice, solid dihydrogen oxide. Of course, it was seemingly magical ice that never melted or felt cold, and had some seemingly monumental significance. But it was ice nonetheless. Nolis couldn't even guess what the security personnel were doing.

In his boredom, he inquired of the computer, "Where are the security force agents?"

The metallic voice responded, "Operatives Croas, Nemila, and Sintell are in their respectively designated quarters on level 3, section 2."

Unsatisfied, Nolis sighed and slumped in his chair. The first whispers of the sensory detachment of sleep began to creep over him.

"Nolis!" He heard the shout from behind him and snapped back to clarity. Cellus was making his way toward the front of the roughly triangular bridge.

"Y-yes. I was just beginning to nod off. It is good that you prevented this." In actuality, he rather resented it, but there was no use in making that complaint.

Cellus sat down in his chair. He had the same tired look as Nolis knew had to be on his own face. His voice carried a tone of defeat, "I don't know what to do. That ice is a dead end. I just don't know where to go from here."

Nolis replied simply, "We go home."

This seemed to agitate the Councilor. "And say what? We haven't learned anything! We have more questions than when we started. What happened to the Nox proves that we have to take action, but the others won't see it that way."

"We could try to find others."

"Others?"

"Other allies, the Tok'ra or Asgard perhaps?"

Cellus looked down. "The tok'ra are impossible to find on a good day, and we're five years behind any trail they might have left. The Asgard, it would take months to get to them." He paused. "No, you're right. We'll…just have to go h-"

He was cut off by a beep and a holographic display appearing before them. The display showed the words "Ambient Subspace Signal Detected" flashing in blue letters. They then heard a shaking male voice speaking with what sounded like explosions in the background. "This is Captain She'rak of the Free Jaffa vessel _Melchac _requesting immediate assistance. We are without life support systems, and our power systems have overloaded. Any ship in the vicinity, please render assistance." He sounded panicked, and according to the distress signal, he had good reason to be.

Cellus look immediately at Nolis. "Can you get a sensor lock?"

Nolis was already a step ahead of Cellus. "Yes and it's very nearby, but the readings are obscure, there is an unusual radio-magnetic field from a nearby planet causing sensor-"

"Take us there."

"Ah yes, computing a course and activating the hyperdrive. The trip will last no more than one half hour," Nolis said as the view once again shifted to that of hyperspace.

'_Free _Jaffa_?' _Cellus continued to look at the sensor readings incredulously. They were limited at best, but the planet did seem habitable. 'Why wouldn't they just make an emergency landing?' He instructed the computer to ready shields and weapons just in case. Just in case…

Corre System, Milky Way Galaxy

"The message has been successfully broadcasted across all subspace frequencies sir," The rough voice of the man at the console told Vashin.

"Good," Vashin replied. "Now we wait." So far, everything was going smoothly. The planet's strange properties would give them the element of surprise, and so on and so forth. Of course, it had been the easy part up until now.

The man at the console spoke again. "Uh commander, we're getting an encoded signal. It's Kefflin!"

Vashin was startled by this. Kefflin calling was never good. He quickly arranged his lapels and the pin indicating his rank in the Lucian Alliance. "Uh yes, on the main screen now!"

The dark face of Kefflin, undisputed ruler of the Lucian Alliance appeared on the pel'tak's central viewscreen, and as usual his face displayed nothing but unhappiness. He barked at Vashin, "Vashin! Is everything ready?"

Vashin stuttered in reply, "Yes s-sir. The uh fake distress message has been sent out. I just hope that our intel was right and the Tau'ri vessel will be in the area today." Secretly he did not.

"I hope so too, for your sake."

Vashin was experienced enough to take the threat seriously. "Yes, of course sir. I have some doubts about this though. I mean, these new shields aren't that much improved over the older ones. We still can't even reproduce the enhancements of Anubis's ha'taks. How can we stand up to the Tau'ri directly?"

Throughout this remark, Kefflin had been growing visibly angry, until he exploded at Vashin. "WE'VE BEEN LOSING KASSA FASTER THAN WE CAN GROW IT. ITS BEEN OUT THERE DYING ON THE STOCK! THE TAU'RI CAUSED THIS. I. WANT. THEM. DEAD." He let out a breath and tried to compose himself. Vashin was doing all he could not to cower behind his chair. "Besides," Kefflin said smiling grimly, "nobody ever said you were expected to survive. You have three options, Commander. Either the Tau'ri kill you, or you destroy their ship, or I kill you for having failed me. In any case, I get to see how effectively we can confront them. You have 5 ships Commander. Try not to die..."

The transmission cut out and Vashin took a moment to let his almost certain death sink in. At least it would probably be quick if the Tau'ri destroyed his ship. Kefflin would not be so generous. He was known neither for rationality nor forgiveness.

This in mind, he went forward with his fatal task."Prepare the ha'tak formation! They could be here at any moment..."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello. With this chapter, the journey of our Tollan comes to an end… and their greatest journey begins. From here, it becomes quite AU. I simply cannot maintain cannon continuity while adding my races and characters. Just so it is known, this story is meant to take place in 2008. I would like to thank everyone who has read, favourited, and reviewed this story. Without this, I would not have continued and the story would still be stuck in the torturous flames of one-shot hell. As always, any suggestions or ideas are welcome and appreciated. I have made this chapter just a slight bit longer than usual. I so very much hope that you enjoy it. **

**Your faithful servant eternally,**

**Shadowburst Enigma**

**Disclaimer: Despite my best efforts, I **_**still**_** do not own Stargate.**

**Tollan Starship **_**Equatis**_**, Hyperspace…**

"Reversion to normal space in one minute thirty-two seconds," the computer informed Cellus, Nolis, and the two security officers that had now joined them on the bridge.

Cellus rose slowly from his chair and took a few steps forward towards the wall to ceiling view window. He held his hands together behind his back and looked forward into hyperspace. He turned his head slightly to look at Nolis. "We should be ready to help them."

Nolis stood up and joined Cellus at the front of the bridge, taking a similar pose. "Yes. Computer, activate security and repair probes."

The advanced central computer core of the _Equatis _processed this and instantly awoke its' small contingent of automated units. The repair units would attempt to stabilize the condition of the distressing ship, while the security units would ensure that the valuable Tollan technology was well guarded. "Confirmed", replied the computer, "Exiting hyperspace in 3 seconds."

Space above Corre Prime, Corre system.

A localized area of space began to distort as subspace and normal space prepared to collide, forming a hyperspace window.

This disturbance registered on Vashin's hat'ak sensors. The moment was at hand, and based on these readings the ship would exit just as planned, surrounded by 5 motherships with weapons fully charged. Vashin took nodded quickly and ordered hastily. "Alert the fleet. I want weapons discharged at the emergence point now! Don't give them a chance to activate sheilds."

"Yes sir."

At that moment, a flash marked the opening of a spatial rupture. Tentacles of blue-white energy issuing forth from the hyperspace window. The five ha'taks surrounding this portal, unleashed concentrated bolts of superheated plasma from their heavy staff cannons. Even as a ship emerged from hyperspace, the bolts were reaching their target.

The effect was very apparent on the Tollan starship _Equatis_. Cellus, starring out into space as the ship emerged, barely had time to widen his eyes in shock at the sight of _several_ Goa'uld Motherships and their weapons already firing. He bolted for his chair, but was thrown to the ground by the immense tremors that ran through the ships as the plasma bolts hit.

The tremors continued, but they weakened drastically from the initial impact, and Cellus was able to pull himself into his chair. Nolis had been quicker to react and had made it to his chair already. Cellus shouted as the less intense tremors continued. "Report!"

Nolis was surrounded by holographic tactical displays. "There are five ha'taks surrounding the ship. Three heavy plasma bolts hit the ship before the computer protocols automatically raised shields. No hull breaches, but the hyperdrive is offline. The arrangement of the ships is straining the shield matrix. Shields at 92% strength." More tremors shook the ship, as a bright golden plasma bolt could be seen impacting the purple Tollan designed shield outside the view window.

Cellus gritted his teeth. "Target all ships with the enhanced ion cannons!" The _Equatis _was no warship, but the Tollan were not a culture that left anything defenseless.

Nolis was working quickly. "I have already done so. Sensors show that four of the ships are standard Goa'uld motherships with relatively minor shield improvements. The fifth is an Upgraded Ha'tak with hybrid shield technology, likely the lead ship of the group. Sheilds at 86%."

Cellus regained his characteristic Tollan passivity and with an almost unnoticeable growl ordered, "target that one last." Thinking of the shield technology that allowed the Goa'uld to threaten and then almost obliterate his people, he took satisfaction in ordering, "Fire!"

Nolis thrust his hand into the holographic tactical monitor, thus giving the attack command. The two enhanced ion cannon platforms on the top and bottom of the ship's curved, sleek, teardrop shaped body swiveled into alignment. They fired in sequence, launching large blasts of ultra-dense high energy particles at the first ha'tak.

Typical Goa'uld shields couldn't withstand the intensity of even one ion cannon blast. The concentrated impact geometry couldn't be compensated for, and the bolt would simply bypass the shields. Such happened with the first attacking ship to be targeted. The first cannon blast went through its shields as if they weren't there, crashing into its central structure. There was no reprieve for the ship, as a second bolt quickly followed. This one caused secondary explosions across the hull, and it exploded into a burning blue ball of plasma as its naquadah reactor overloaded.

This same fate followed for the next three motherships. The shield upgrades performed on them were more than overloaded by the increased power of the enhanced ion cannons. So, they fell until only one was left.

The lead ship.

Onboard that ship, Vashin was watching in horror as the battle progressed. And it was a very one sided battle at that. He had thought that his tactic of attacking the ship might have paid off. It caused some damage, but they were able to raise their shields far more quickly than he would have liked.

He then watched as four of his ha'taks were destroyed, blown out of the sky by just a few shots of this ship's strange and seemingly solitary weapon. On top of all this, it was also fairly certain from their scans that this ship wasn't actually of the Tau'ri. Many of the crew of the last mothership had tried to emergency ring over to his own ship. Despite being the last ship standing, he continued to fire. After all, his ship was far more advanced than the others.

"Continue firing!" He hoped it was enough.

His tactical off replied. "Yes sir. The alien ship is targeting us!" A violent tremor coursed through the ship as the first ion blast impacted upon their hybrid shields. "Sir, shields are down to 76%!"

Commander Vashin's eyes bulged. _How?, _He thought frantically.Of course, if it had been an Asgard plasma beam from a Tau'ri ship, this single shot might have destroyed or disabled them entirely. But, he didn't have a chance to consider himself lucky, as another tremor shook the mothership, throwing him from his command throne.

"Shields at 50% sir. We've lost half our weapons from secondary damage." Another two shots impacted the shields, and the console next to the officer exploded. "Shields at 30%. Sir the power systems are beginning to overload."

Another shot. Vashin didn't even bother getting up. It wasn't worth it.

"Shields are failing sir!" Surprisingly the tactical officer was still at his post. Atypical honor for someone in the Lucian Alliance. "Shields have collapsed… main power has… failed. We can't take another shot." He closed his eyes and waited for the killing blow.

One that didn't come…

"Cease fire." Cellus stood up and retook his place standing in front of the view screen with his hands clasped behind his back. They were the victors and they still have 65% shields. This time, there was a ship in his view, one of the ships that had laid waste to Tollana. He couldn't help but smile a little at its defeat. He turned to face Nolis. Or rather, as it was, Nolis and Llerea embracing._ When did she get here. Was she here the whole time? , _he questioned himself at her sudden appearance.

That didn't matter anyway. He conjured up a shimmering sensor readout of the ship. He read it over. The ship was on emergency power. Their weapons, shields, and propulsion were all offline. They were also showing multiple hull breaches, and minimal life support. But the thing that really interested Cellus was the biosign readings. The were human! Well, most of them. There appeared to be one Goa'uld, but the majority and those on their bridge were pure human. Cellus wasn't sure if humans having control of that technology made him relieved, or horrified.

But one Goa'uld?

The screen informed him that he was receiving a transmission from the ha'tak. He adjusted his clothing and coat, making sure that he looked put together and unshaken for his adversaries. "Open transmission."

A large man of golden-tan complexion dressed in a black uniform appeared. Surprisingly to Cellus, he did not carry an appearance of aggression. He actually looked… relieved?

The man spoke in the distinct modular tones of a Goa'uld symbiote. "**Greetings, I am Sahren of the Tok'ra. Based on the energy readings from your ship and your use of such ionic weaponry, I assume you are of the Tollan?"**

Cellus smiled. It would seem that their bad fortunes were beginning to reverse. "Yes, you are correct. I am Coucilor Cellus of the Tollan Curia. It is good to make contact with a Tok'ra agent. That being said, I must assume that you are currently working as a covert operative?"

**"Yes. We were tasked with infiltrating the Lucian Alliance. I'm afraid that we must ask your assistance."**

Bowing his head courteously, Cellus replied. "Of course."

**"In contacting you, we have revealed ourselves. I would ask to transport to your ship immediately. The crew is in disrepair just as the ship is, but it will not be long before I am detected. This is if it has not already happened."**

He glanced discreetly over at Llerea and Nolis, who by now were giving their complete attention to the unfolding conversation. They both nodded. Nolis pointed to the security personnel. Cellus looked at them, and they nodded as well. They then moved into position at the transport area at the back of the bridge, stunners readied.

He then responded. "Naturally, we are ready to receive you at your convenience. I might advise haste."

'**Thank you," **he bowed his head, **"I shall ring over immediately."** The transmission terminated.

Cellus, Nolis, and Llerea went to stand in front of the transport, but behind the security agents. Precautions of course. A few moments later, a bright white light and the sound of a ring transport filled the back half of the bridge. After an instant, it were gone and the tok'ra Sahren was standing there. The weapons nullification tech of the ship wasted no time in disarming his sidearm. The light purple rays easily identifying and de-energizing its power source, in this case the primitive reactant powder in the ammunition cartridges. The Lucian Alliance like guns, and he had to fit in.

The Tok'ra raised his hands when he saw the stunners pointed at him. Llerea was quick to explain, "please, we must simply confirm that you are who you claim to be. Surely you understand the necessity of this?"

Sahren replied, **"Oh yes, of course."**

The female security operative, officer Sintell, approached the Tok'ra and placed a small silver device on his forehead. She then backed away and questioned him. "Please state your identity and affiliation."

He responded simply. **"I am Sahren of the Tok'ra." **The device lit up green.

"Good, now please transfer control to your host."

Sahren dipped his head, and a few seconds later raised it again. The device lit up green again.

"Please state _your_ identity and affiliation."

The man smiled nervously for a second. "Y-yes. I am Nallam of the Tok'ra." The Light was green.

"And you share your body equally and willingly with Sahren?"

"Yes. Why-" The light blinked green again.

"That is all, thank you." Llerea moved forward and collected the small, advanced lie-detecting probe. The security officers holstered their stunners. Cellus, Nolis, and Llerea each clasped hands with the Tok'ra and introduced themselves. The Tok'ra symbiote was once again in control.

**"You must excuse Nallam," **he apologized, **"He has trouble trusting others of his species. He came from a relatively advanced human culture. They were spared by the Goa'uld, in exchange for a supply of hosts. He was raised his entire life, only to be sacrificed into eternal slavery by his own people. Naturally, he prefers that I handle most interactions." **

The Tollan didn't really know how to respond to this. They were horrified. Not at all shocked, but horrified. Unfortunately, such things were known to happen in the galaxy. Most human cultures, and individuals for that matter, were relatively quick to bend under pressure. Even the Tollan were intent on using their phase-shifting anti-matter weapons to commit genocide against the Tau'ri, if it meant saving themselves from the Goa'uld.

Llerea; who typically handled situations of diplomacy and relations, nodded sympathetically.

Sahren continued and changed the subject. **"Now that we have exchanged pleasantries, I assume that you have many questions?" **

Llerea replied. "You assume correctly. If you would please follow me." She lead him out of the bridge and down the wide polished corridor, followed by the two male Tollan and the security escort. There were no obvious light sources on the ship. The soft luminescence of the corridors seemed to seep from the very walls themselves. In fact, it kind of did. It was in fact a very rudimentary kind of ambient projection, distantly related to holographics. They walked down to the main conference room. They were in for a very interesting few hours of catching up...

And at the end of that debriefing; in which both the Tok'ra and the Tollan were surprised by how much the Tollan had missed in the last six years of literally galactic scale news, everything was so much more disturbingly clear. Disturbing that there had been so many close calls. Not just for the fate of fair Tollana, but for everyone. Anubis, Replicators, The Ori! And even more disturbing was the fact that these close calls to disaster, the most recent being the apparently almost unstoppable Ori, had all been averted by none other than the Tau'ri, those humans from Earth.

Humans from Earth who; if the Tok'ra were to be believed (and even the Tollan in their admitted cultural supremacy had to admit that the benevolent symbiotic species were the masters of intelligence gathering), were now flying around the galaxy and beyond in warships of their own. _Warships,_ Llerea was first to emphasize. She remembered well the importance they put on their military; to the point of concealing their stargate and all it's related revelations from the public of the planet.

And this all came to a close by discussing what was to be done with the remaining disabled ha'tak and it's occupants, now known by the Tollan to be the galactic criminal organization, the Lucian Alliance.

It was decided that they were to be taken to the planet below and allowed to return to their people by way of the stargate. Honestly, what else could be done? Tollan law was very lenient, and it would be unwise to attempt a Triad with this Lucian Alliance. Their seeker would probably try to plant a bomb or something, and then they would have to stand Triad as well. It was too much of a headache.

The only issue with the stargate option was that the planet was inhabited by a large mid-industrial human population, according to Sahren. And apparently they had been forced by the Lucian Alliance to mine naquadah. There had been, as he called them, "demonstrations."

The meeting was concluded with a decision to attempt to make contact and obtain usage of the stargate, and with the Tok'ra operative cordially asking for transport to a Tok'ra safe world, as they were off of the stargate network.

And this was a problem...

Nolis expressed this. "That request... may prove difficult. Our hyperdrive was disabled in the battle."

Cellus looked at him inquisitively. "We can repair it, right?"

Nolis grimaced. "Unfortunately no. The primary and secondary subspace apertures were both fused by the initial plasma impacts. It was merely a "very lucky hit" on behalf of the Lucian Alliance, but a subspace aperture is one of the few devices on the ship that cannot be replicated using nanite matter arrangement. We will need one from Tollana..."

Sahren stated the obvious fact that had occurred to all of them, "it seems that we'll need use of that stargate anyway."

"You will be allowed to return to the planet of your choice via stargate at the earliest availability..." The unusual human lectured emotionlessly.

"Wha-," Vashin tried his best to look intimidating as he attempted to object. He was only cut off by the further ramblings of the human dressed in various shades of grey.

"Your critically damaged ship will become the property of the Tollan people, as to ensure that it is never again used for criminal purposes."

Vashin was enraged by this. _First the humiliation of defeat and then this! _"It will not! The Lucian alliance will-."

"_You_ will comply, and the Lucian Alliance is advised to desist in all violations of planetary sovereignty." The transmission ended. Vashin was left to slump back into his command chair.

This "Tollan" human was right. He really had no choice. The power systems of the ship were blown beyond their ability to restore them. They could only hold out on that ship so long. Still, he would maintain his harsh defiance. The Lucian Alliance really was a very vain entity. Besides, he might as well maintain his dignity as long as he could. Soon, Kefflin will take that from him.

After laying down the law with the Lucian Alliance, the inhabitants of the _Equatis _took the opportunity to get some rest, something that they desperately needed after this eventful journey so far. They then set about the business of their first contact with the planet.

"Computer establish geosynchronous orbit and begin detailed scans of the planet's surface." Cellus was glad to see that the planet's odd fields only inhibited long range subspace sensors.

The computer replied. "Command confirmed. Scanning planetary surface."

The six Tollan and one Tok'ra looked at the tannish ball in front of them. The planet truly was massive, they needed no sensors to determine that. They could also see that it was ugly. Most planets had breathtakingly majestic views from orbit. But this one didn't. In fact, it's image could only be described as breathtakingly hideous. It was all brown and tan with small oceans here and there, and a few patches of light burnt out green.

Shining holographic displays blinked into existence before each person on the bridge. Llerea was the first to speak when after a few moments she said, "I have never seen anything-"

Cellus was suddenly smiling almost impossibly wide. "I know!"

Nolis took his turn. He glanced at the others, "Can you imagine what we could do with this?"

Sahren could tell he was missing something. "I don't understand. What's going on?" Nolis realized that the intricate geometric characters of their language were surely indecipherable to him. To resolve the issue, he ordered the ship, "Computer, our guest is Tok'ra. His interfaces must be presented in Goa'uld."

"Confirmed." The holographic display in front of Sahren instantly rearranged itself to show neatly arranged columns of hieroglyphs. The theme of the interface even changed from the standard bluish-white outlines preferred by the Tollan, to the duller orangish-gold typical of Goa'uld computer readouts.

Sahren suddenly saw what everyone was taken by. According to these preliminary scans, this planet had the most substantial deposits of trinium Sahren had ever seen in his life. It actually appeared that the strange disturbance field around the planet was the product of the interactions between these high trinium concentrations and the neutronium core of the planet.

For Cellus, this was almost too good to be true, and it meant that this was no longer a simple matter of repairing their ship and heading out. This planet had now become a crucial asset to his people, and there was no time to waste. "Computer, establish a maximum priority subspace connection with High Chancellor Narim."

They waited a few seconds. Nolis and Llerea drew closer to him so that they might more easily partake in the conversation. After a short time, a displayed showed the characteristically impassive yet slightly concerned face of Narim. He spoke to the three of them. "Councilor Cellus, Councilor Llerea, Nolis, is everything all right? We had been expecting to hear from you sooner."

Cellus smiled. "Yes High Chancellor, everything is all right. Well… it is now… kind of…" Narim's lips turned downward slightly. "What I mean to say is that we are alright now. That being said, we have need of a part to repair our hyperdrive and we have also located a planet with extensive concentrations of trinium. We were intending to contact the native people and request usage of their stargate.. as well as attempt to establish diplomatic relations." He said the second part just a little hesitantly.

A look of understanding came to the High Chancellor's face. "Am I correct in assuming that these people are considerably less advanced than us?"

"Yes, High Chancellor."

Narim continued, "and that you would like to be conducting this with my approval, so as to have a defensible position before the Curia?"

Cellus smiled mentally. Narim was sharp as a whip and twice as quick. "Yes… This is correct."

Narim didn't have to think long. "Very well. You have my approval for this." Narim had always been less traditional. He was not a strong proponent of his people's isolation. He was; of course, not as outspoken as Cellus before the Curia, but he did share many of the same opinions. "Towards your original purpose, have you made contact with our allies?"

Llerea answered this. "We have learned many many things, High Chancellor. We have also made contact with the Tok'ra. Quite honestly, it would be best to inform you of everything in person."

The distinguished leader of the Tollan nodded. "Yes, I see. Hopefully you will soon be successful and we will meet in person."

Llerea replied, "Indeed, we soon shall." The three of them bowed their heads and the transmission ended.

Llerea moved to the front of the bridge to address the others. "What i cannot overstate is the importance of our conduct during this first contact. We must make… an impression. Starting now." She turned her back to them. It was obvious that she had taken control of this preceding. "Computer, locate the most conducive landing sight on the fringes of a highly populated city. Then, initiate entry protocols." She stood there, her dress falling dramatically over her, one hand on her hip. Her face was serious, but from her confident posture it was obvious to anyone that this was her specialty. She was in her element.

The President of the Greater Shajan Union sat peacefully in his office inspecting all that he had accomplished.. mainly for himself… But as he was running his fingers over the priceless ivory windowsills and overlooking his acres of perfectly manicured gardens, he liked to think that he'd improved the lives of his people. Mainly unintentionally, but still.

As one of the most powerful men on the planet, President Jojin could more than afford these long moments of blissful refusal to acknowledge how small he was in the universe. Maybe during this one, he would go to a cinema? Or better yet, watch a program on the television that he had only_ officially_ owned for the last few years? Before that it was a classified government invention.

But he wouldn't get the chance. His secretary came scampering in. She was a cute blonde girl, very easy on the President's eyes. But this time, her face was anything but charming and her voice was frantic as blurted out. "Mr. President, Mr. President. Oh Mr. President, I know you don't like to be disturbed during your private time, but Mr. President he wouldn't listen."

The President looked to the door of his spacious office. A large unwieldy man dressed in a traditional Corre suit (with its tan jacket bottoned from his collar to just above his knees) was shaking off the Preisdent's personal guards. He said in a gruff voice. "Let go, I say. Don't you know who I am?"

The President put on his political smile and outstretched his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Of course they do Military Administrator Malked. Welcome, welcome. Come on, take a seat."

The guards released their grip, and Malked approached. He still looked rigid and put off though. "I'm sorry Jemi, but you wont mind if I skip the pleasantries. They're here…"

The President repeated to himself, his smile dropping from his face. "They're… he- What? What do you mean? They can't be here! We've given them everything they wanted!" His voice was quickly becoming panicked.

The Military Administrator handed him a couple of blurry photographs. We got these from an observer post outside of the city just a few minutes ago. It should have landed by now."

The President looked on to behold stream of white hot fire searing down from the sky like the single burning tear of a mournful god. What was certain was that it was not from this world. He was almost helpless. "Ptah help us." he managed to whisper. _They took our resources while it benefitted them, but now they've finally began the invasion…the bastards…_

He braced himself, it was no accident that they landed outside of Republishid. They wanted to meet with Corre's their leaders. They wanted to meet with _him, _and unfortunately he had a duty to his own continued existence to respond. "Send in the, ah, the troops. And uh r-ready my car." His moment was at hand.

"Already done, Sir."

Shortly after the ship had landed, the Union's elite were sent in with enough firepower to lay siege to a large city. They had 26 heavy artillery cannons, over 500 men and counting, and enough ammo and supplies to wage a small war. This situation; though unfortunate, was not unexpected. The commander had told the troops this as they were briefed on their assignment. The existence of the aliens in orbit was not public knowledge, although it would soon have to be.

Within little time, the Union forces had completely surrounded the massive ship. It was, according to their approximations 120 gildars long, 50 gilders wide, and 50 gildars tall at it's widest and tallest points. It was shaped like an enormous _schelewa_ seed. So then they waited, waited for President Jojin, waited for the aliens, waited for someone or something to break the tension.

The President was the one to break it. He arrived with all the pomp and circumstance expected of him, even in this situation. His trailing motorcade threw up plumes of desert sand in its wake. His personal guards kept him safe from the sea of assaulting reporters, as he stepped out of the car. He wasted no time, especially since he had the limelight. He walked up to the temporary command post and exchanged a few important looking words with important looking men in uniform. President Jojin then took a place in front of an amplifier and spoke with false confidence. "Greetings from the planet Corre. I am President Jojin of The Greater Shajan Democratic Union. We are gathered in hope of making peaceful contact with you."

Nothing happened for a few tense moments and the President looked as if he was about to speak again, when a small panel detached itself from the underside of the ship and began to float gently down, defying gravity as if it were nothing.

Apparently one of the artillerymen was a bit too impressed, as he inadvertently fired off his cannon. With that, every other cannon followed blindly and the air rippled with deafening bangs as huge metal shells were launched at hundreds of megagildars per hour at the fragile looking metal of the alien ship. Everyone looked on in horror, expecting the ship to give way. What they saw was even more amazing.

The shells never hit the ship at all. Instead they impacted an invisible barrier that pulsed purple with each impact. The President stood speechless, and the panel came to touch the ground below the ship. There was then a flash of pure white light and a strange ringing sound. When the light receded as quickly as it appeared, they were faced with a striking human woman dressed in an fitted grey dress. On either side she was flanked by men wearing a strange kind of armor. She smiled lightly and spoke, astonishingly in a language understandable to them and with some kind of amplification, "Greetings. I am Councilor Llerea. I come from a planet called Tollana."

Llerea had done a good job. In fact, she had done a fantastic job. She took an explosive situation and successfully defused it. It hadn't been easy either. There was a lot of explaining being done on from behind a forcefield. There were a lot of questions, and a lot of disbelief at the answers. But after three days, she finally managed to convince the Correans that the ship had, as they apparently wanted to call it "come in peace." Now, they could discuss what they really needed to discuss.

The six Tollan, one Tok'ra, and six hovering metal orbs waited in the central hall of the _Equatis._ This room was actually meant for meetings such as this. That and carrying cargo. The walls curved elegantly up to a high circular ceiling. Here several floating orbs of purple light were positioned for decoration. The floor was a polished bluish-grey material with intricate geometric designs carved in. It was of impressive design while remaining utilitarian. Since all Tollan ships were officially designated for transport and diplomacy (even though this one was designed specifically for the defense fleet), a large central room such as this was necessary.

Cellus groaned quietly as he slipped a dull black cuff over his hand and onto his wrist. Immediately, the black device tightened to conform directly to his skin. A small shiver ran through his spine as the connection was established. He closed his eyes. and concentrated. He could then see in his mind the control systems of the defense drones surrounding him. "Must we really?"

Llerea sighed. She had been over this before. "Cellus, you know very well that this portion is in large part presentation, and for the most impressive presentation we must use neural interfaces."

"Yes yes, I know." He hated them. They were convenient yes, but no more so than a verbal interface. Besides, by their very nature, they went two ways. Cellus wasn't overly comfortable with having such a direct link between his mind and the ship computer, even if the ship's AI wasn't currently activated. Many people were not comfortable with such a connection. There had been a time until about a century ago when everything on Tollan was neurally connected, but this fell out of fashion.

"They're coming," Llerea pointed out as a circle of white appeared on the ground in front of them. A second later a flash of white deposited six men in dark brown uniforms. They had very serious looks, and they carried very large guns. They stepped out of the circle and stood on either side; they were followed by four men in the light tan suits of this world. Unlike their solider escorts, they were visibly astounded by the sensation of the transporter. This group was finally followed by the man they all knew as President Jojin, accompanied by an awkward man in a very fancy uniform with many medals and colored ribbons on his shoulders and four more soldier escorts.

The President stepped forward and so did Llerea. They bowed heads. Llerea spoke, "President Jojin. It is our honor to receive you."

The President reciprocated with his political smile. "Of course, it's our honor to be invited. Let's hope that we can help with your request."

"Yes. To the point then." She gestured with her hand while sending a mental command to the ship. A large circular table began to rise from the floor in the center of the room. Blocks around it also rose up, different parts unfolding and protruding to create formal yet uncomfortable looking chairs. "Please, have a seat and we will begin our discussion. This should not take very long."

The President was impressed. Llerea was right. This was about presentation. The President and his escorts took a step towards the table. He then stopped, appearing to have suddenly remembered something. "Councilor. I hope it wouldn't be any trouble, but Administrator Malked was very much hoping for a chance for a bit of… cultural exchange. Perhaps he could ask a few question and tour your fine ship?" He motioned towards the large but disproportionate man in the gaudy uniform.

Cellus volunteered. "It would be our pleasure. If the Administrator would please follow me.." He knew that what the President had really meant was 'a chance to gather intelligence on your race and your technology,' but Cellus saw this as a good chance to show off. He could make an impression for their upcoming agenda.

They exited the central hall and walked along a corridor. It was silent for a moment before Malked opened with his first question. "What is your name?"

"I am Cellus."

"Is that it? Don't you have a last name?"

"No. Tollan do not have last names."

"I see. May I ask, what are those… things?" He pointed to the two round devices following his guide on either side.

"These are defense drones. They are here for my protection, just as your soldiers are for your's. This is the armory." He stopped at an arched door.

Now this grabbed Malked's interest. "i would like to go in."

Cellus noticed how this gaudy man never inquired as to whether or not he _could_ go in. He chuckled internally. "Of course you may." The door opened with a clang.

Malked entered and looked at the small closet sized room with shelves of odd looking metal objects. There were cylinders, and balls, and those triangular weapons that the Tollan soldiers wore. There were also some devices that were very familiar. In fact, his guide Cellus had the very same ones strapped to his arms. He narrowed his eyes at the Tollan and pointed with a fat. "Those things on your arms, they're weapons?"

_Is that all this man thinks about?_, Cellus asked himself. Then he realized that it probably was. "No. Actually none of them are. If we only kept weaponry in this room, then it would have to be considerably smaller. Please, do not touch that!"

Malked was quick to pull his hand away from the stunner that he was beginning to grasp.

"We should continued. It is a large enough ship." He wanted to get him out of the armory before the man found some way to accidentally kill himself with nonlethal weapons. They emerged back into the corridor.

Malked tried to ask nonchalantly, "Is this the largest ship you have?" It only came out sounding shifty.

"Yes, yes it is. It is a diplomatic ship. Since this is a 'cultural exchange' I assume you would not mind answering a few questions in return?"

Malked paused at this. "Ah yes, yes. Whatever you'd like." _Worst case, I can always lie. Besides, his questions might tell me their true purpose, _he thought to himself as he ran his index finger through his dark wiry goatee.

"Good, then we can continue our exchange in the holoroom. This way…" He lead them down in the direction of a transport platform that had just revealed itself. Cellus hated having to give such formal, terse responses. But what could he do? Propriety was propriety.

**Meanwhile…**

The President grumbled under his breath. They had been saying it all along. Those crazy scientists had been howling about that damned ring since the moment he came to office, and now it turns out they were right. "So it's a transport device after all…"

Nolis, who had been helping with these proceedings, raised his eyebrows slightly. "Then you have the device?"

The President glanced to the advisors sitting on either side of him. They nodded affirmatively, so he continued. "Yes, we have been conducting research on it for decades. There were those that thought it was a portal, but we always thought the artifact was some kind of weapon. We haven't been able to get it to perform any function at all."

Nolis began indelicately, "Yes well, that is not very surp-"

Llerea cut him off. "As we said, our battle with the forces in orbit have left us incapable of interstellar travel. We will need to use the stargate to obtain repair materials from Tollana and to return Sahren to his people. We would ask that the dialing device-"

The President was following up until this. "Wait wait. A dialing device?"

Nolis chimed in. "A pedestal-like device with symbols arranged in tiles and a large gem orb in the center. It was most likely found at the same location as the gate."

The President shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but we've never found anything like that."

Llerea and Nolis glanced at each other. "We have portable replacements. We can take care of that."

"We'll allow you to use our stargate, on the condition that we are allowed to keep the 'dialing device' and are instructed in how to use the stargate."

The Tollan looked at each other again, exchanging convert wealths of information with subtle facial expressions.

Llerea nodded. "Yes. I believe that we can arrange for this. Now there is the matter of the captured Lucian Alliance crew…"

The President looked surprised, and also tired of being surprised. "Excuse me?"

"Not all of the Lucian Alliance ships were destroyed. One survived, critically damaged. It's crew is currently trapped in orbit. They too will have to be allowed to return to their planets through the stargate."

The President looked put off by this idea. "Absolutely not! They are guilty of planetary scale extortion. They demanded huge supplies of naquadah from each government on Corre, or else they would attack from orbit."

Llerea tried to cool this down, "yes, that is true. But Tollan law does not allow for extradition to sovereign nations that make use of torture and execution. Given the situation, it is likely that these would be used against the Lucian Alliance prisoners."

The President looked like he was about to object, but before he could, he was tapped on the should and one of his advisors whispered something into his ear. He changed his expression to an agreeable smile. "Very well. Councilor, we would like to explore further relations with your people. I would hope that when you return to your people, you would be willing to keep a representative here as an ambassador."

"Of course. We believe there is much good our peoples could do for each other. The ambassador would be a representative to your planet as a whole, but I believe that our fateful meeting will end up being a turning point in the history of all Corre."

After the departure of the Lucian Alliance and Sahren the Tok'ra, contact was made with Tollana and Llerea took on a position as the official Tollan ambassador to the planet Corre. She then continued negotiating and politicking, slowly formulating a more close alliance. It took weeks, and during that time Cellus and Nolis had to deal with many "cultural exchanges" from military officers. There were also the enjoyable true cultural exchanges from diplomats and leaders. That wasn't even mentioning the speeches and demonstrations made to the general public. It was far from easy being the first "aliens" that this planet had ever publicly encountered.

But after a little over eight weeks, a momentous event was occurring. Leaders of the various nations of Corre and High Chancellor Narim himself were meeting at President Jojin's Presidential Palace to sign the Mutual Alignment Accords. This document was truly a piece of art, with credit going to Llerea. She had taken concepts from several prominent treaties (including the Asgard Protected Planets treaty). Basically, in exchange for constant supplies of corren trinium and the right to build facilities in orbit of Corre, the Tollan would defend the planet from attack and slowly provide the Correns with an infusion of non-sensitve technologies. These technologies were at the discretion of and regulated by the Curia. Unlike the Protected Planets Treaty; however, the Tollan would maintain a sovereign embassy on Corre and could provide assistance with such things as natural disasters. The Correns had readily accepted this. The Curia; however, they were more difficult, but the tide was turning in favor of the progressivists on Tollana. Those stuck in the past could no longer hold them back.

Two whole worlds watched as this exciting event took place. Tollan communication satellites beamed the footage simultaneously to Tollana and to the primitive televisions across Corre. Among these millions of observers, there were two that were hidden from all else.

Mere feet from the lavishly decorated dais on which the signing was taking place, two woman stood looking on. Their forms glowed with a white cosmic radiance. Indeed, none were aware of these two hidden ascended beings.

One with twig like hair and the soft passive features of the Nox spoke mentally to the other. "This is good. This is the first step to being ready. Even if we don't entirely approve," she looked down for a moment, "there can be no other way."

The other, a woman with reddish hair and an air of benevolence nodded. "Yes. The Asgard have chosen their successors."

"And the Nox have chosen ours."

The human-looking ascended being sensed her companion's uneasy. "Lya, you have chosen well. They do not share your views exactly, but that was necessary. This way, they will be ready."

"Let us hope… Oma, I am sensing something…"

Oma Desala looked up to the sky, "Yes, the Others are gathering support from some unlikely places."

"That is unlike them."

"Everything is at risk for them as well. Just when they thought our troubles ended with the destruction of the Ori too." She added somberly, "I wonder if we'll ever escape the follies of our past..." She paused. "This reminds me. We have to go meet… an old acquaintance of mine."


End file.
